Kunigunde of Hohenstaufen

Kunigunde of Hohenstaufen or Kunigunde of Swabia (German: Kunigunde von Staufen or Kunigunde von Schwaben, Czech: Kunhuta Štaufská or Kunhuta Švábská) (February/March 1202 – 13 September 1248) was the third daughter of Philip, Duke of Swabia and his wife, Irene Angelina.^[1]

Kunigunde of Hohenstaufen
Queen consort of Bohemia
Tenure	1230–1248
Coronation	6 February 1228
Born	February or March 1202 Swabia, Germany
Died	13 September 1248 (aged 47–48) Prague, Bohemia
Burial	Convent of St Agnes of Bohemia in Prague
Spouse	Wenceslaus I of Bohemia ​ ​ (m. 1224)​
Issue	Vladislaus, Margrave of Moravia Ottokar II of Bohemia
House	Hohenstaufen
Father	Philip of Swabia
Mother	Irene Angelina

Family

She and her three sisters were orphaned in 1208; that year, her father was murdered, and a few months later her mother died following the birth of a fifth daughter, who did not live either.

Marriage and children

Kunigunde soon moved to Prague, where her fiancé Wenceslaus lived.^[1] He was the eldest surviving son of Ottokar I of Bohemia and his second wife Constance of Hungary.^[2] In 1224, Kunigunde married Wenceslaus.^[1] They were crowned in 1228.^[3]

In 1230, Wenceslaus succeeded his father as King of Bohemia, with Kunigunde as his queen consort. However, Queen Kunigunde seems to be not important in politics, although she founded many monasteries. They had:

• Vladislaus III of Moravia (c. 1228 – 3 January 1247).
• Ottokar II of Bohemia (c. 1230 – 26 August 1278).^[1]
• Beatrice of Bohemia (c. 1231 – 27 May 1290), married Otto III, Margrave of Brandenburg.
• Agnes of Bohemia (died 10 August 1268), married Henry III, Margrave of Meissen.
• An unnamed daughter, who died young.

When Wenceslaus' childless brother Přemysl, Margrave of Moravia died in 1239, the sons of Wenceslaus and Kunigunde were the only chances for the survival of the House of Přemysl. The first-born son Vladislaus died in 1247. His mother probably mourned for him less than his father, who was heartbroken.

Kunigunde's tomb at the Convent of St Agnes of Bohemia

In 1248, the younger son Přemysl was enticed by discontented nobles to lead a rebellion against his father. Queen Kunigunde stayed in Prague, but died during this revolt on 13 September 1248. Neither husband nor son attended her funeral. She was buried in the St Agnes Convent.

The rebellion was defeated and Ottokar was imprisoned by his father, but released shortly afterwards.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Kunigunde of Hohenstaufen
8. Frederick II, Duke of Swabia 4. Frederick I Barbarossa 9. Judith of Bavaria, Duchess of Swabia 2. Philip of Swabia 10. Reginald III, Count of Burgundy 5. Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy 11. Agatha of Lorraine 1. Kunigunde of Hohenstaufen 12. Andronikos Angelos Doukas 6. Isaac II Angelos 13. Euphrosyne Kastamonitissa 3. Irene Angelina 7. Irene